everything's so fragile
by CaptainMistakes
Summary: If a Serpent is killed or imprisoned, their family will be taken care of. Goodbye Riverdale High. Goodbye perfect white picket fence doll house. Goodbye murderous father. Betty Cooper was about to join the Southside of Riverdale and watch her life change forever. Even though she didn't knew it yet, she would never be alone again.
1. Chapter 1

**_introduction_**

 _A Serpent never shows cowardice._

Even though her mother wasn't consider a Southside Serpent anymore and hadn't been for awhile, she was never a coward. She would have been ready to anything to defend her opinion or herself and to protect her family. However, her dad was the definition of a coward. He had made her mother weaker than who she really was after all those years.

 _No Serpent stands alone._

When it came to her mother, this Serpent rule may not exactly have apply. She couldn't blame them, after all, her mother had abandoned the Southside Serpents years before for her perfect little life. Life that turned out not to be so perfect after all. But that night, Alice Cooper wished she hadn't stand alone, in front of her drunk husband. Maybe it would have end differently, maybe she would still be alive.

 _If a Serpent is killed or imprisoned, their family will be taken care of._

Betty Cooper thought she had lost everything that night. Her mother was dead, her dad was in prison, her sister had been gone for years. While she believed she was completely in the dark, a whole new family opened their arms to her.

 _In unity, there is strength._

Goodbye Riverdale High. Goodbye perfect white picket fence doll house. Goodbye murderous father. Betty Cooper was about to join the Southside of Riverdale and watch her life change forever. Even though she didn't knew it yet, she would never be alone again.

* * *

 _ **Hi! So I'm trying this whole fanfic thing one more time? Heh, if you know me and/or have seen my accounts, I tend to have big dreams about fanfic but abandon them after awhile (hello writer's block!). But for this one, I'll really try to finish it! I have to say this : I may be biligual, but my english is far from being perfect. I think that's it for me?**_

 _ **Now, about the story! It'll be quite dark, as you may have notice with the introduction. Warning : there will be some major character death. Also, this story will have some canon divergence, especially for some character like, for example Nana Rose (you'll see). I still made it rated T, because it really won't have explicit scene of murder or sex, not really my thing.**_

 _ **Now that I'm done, please enjoy the first chapter.**_

* * *

 ** _Chapter one ~ New life_**

Black dress, black shoes, black coat. Betty gave herself another look in the mirror of the bathroom, trying to fix her makeup. She had just given her speech about her mother, her dead mother, for her funeral. It was hard, but certainly not as hard as having to witness her mother being killed by her own father as she was hiding in the pantry. She could still see Hal Cooper taking a kitchen knife and threatening his wife with it. She could still see him slice Alice's throat and all the blood. She could still see…

"Betty? Are you okay?"

That was Archie Andrews, her childhood friend and neighbor. Archie was there that night, after the police arrived. He stayed with her at the police station all night, while the sheriff was officializing her father's arrest.

Of course not, she wanted to answer. But instead, she got out of the bathroom and gave him a small smile and a solemn nod.

"It's weird that you won't be coming back to Riverdale High after summer. Are you sure you have to go to the other side of the town?" She almost wanted to laugh. She didn't really expect Archie to understand anyway. The poor guy seemed to live in a fantasy world where everything was beautiful and without any problem.

Truth is, when Alice started to consider her divorce, she was clear to her daughter : if anything was to happen to her, Betty was supposed to contact the number that was hidden in the bathroom cabinet. About a week after the brutal murder of Alice, when she finally got back in the house, Betty followed her mother's wish. Turned out that the number belong to a woman living on the Southside of Riverdale. After she explained to him who she was and why she was calling, all the woman answer was "I'm taking care of this sugar". Next thing she knew, social services were calling her, telling her she had a distant relative in Riverdale who was ready to take her in their charge.

She now had a new home, quite a nice place for the Southside actually, and a new family. Turned out the woman she had call was an old lady name Rose. The woman lived in her house alone with her granddaughter. Now, Betty was living with them. Well, actually, she still hadn't met the granddaughter of Rose, but her first night in the house last night had actually been quite nice. Rose had made her cookies and hot cocoa and told her some stories about herself before she went to bed. It could have been worst and Betty was well aware of that.

"I'm going to miss seeing you everyday Betty" said Archie after a moment of silence between them.

"We're still going to see eachother often Arch', don't worry about that."

"I know, but it won't be the same without my favorite cheerleader."

"I thought I was your favorite cheerleader?" came the voice of Veronica Lodge behind them. The brunette came to hug Betty from the side, staying close to her. Girlfriend of Archie and best friend of Betty, Veronica had came in their life a year prior to this one. The two girls had a good number of ups and downs in the last year, but they were still very close nonetheless. "Now, I know your mother wanted you to go to that awful Southside, but know that, if anything, and I mean anything, went wrong there, you will always have your place at the Lodge's."

"Thanks V, but I think I'll be fine."

"I know, if anyone can get through all of this, it's you Betty Cooper."

 **~.~.~**

Betty was walking from the bus stop to her new house. She had convince everyone - Veronica, Archie, Mr Andrews and Rose - that she didn't need a ride from the cemetery to the house. She just needed to walk, alone with her thoughts, a little. In her earphone, the sweet music of some indie band, The Paper Kites, was playing in the beat of her footsteps. She was lost in her own world, thinking about her late mother, when a hand on her shoulder made her jump.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startled you!" Betty looked at the girl in front of her. Pale skin, ginger hair, way taller than her in her high heels, red leather jacket. Her face was cold, but her smile was friendly. Even though Betty didn't knew who she was, she felt like she had saw this young woman before. "I'm Cheryl Blossom," she said handing her hand in front of her. "You're Betty, right?"

That's at this moment that Betty realized where she had seen her before. Cheryl was Rose's granddaughter. She took her hand, shaking it lightly.

"Yeah, that's me. I was about to go back to the house."

"I know, Nana texted me. Asked me to go check if you were close. You want a lift?" she asked, making a move to the car parked on the other side of the road.

"That's kind of you, but I'm fine. I just need to think a little."

"No problem, I get it," Cheryl said with a small nod. "I'll see you back home."

And like that, almost as fast as she had come, Cheryl was back into her car, turning to go on the road to the house. There was something about this girl that made Betty almost nervous. She was so confident. She seemed to have such a loud and bold personality. If she had met her in another context, Betty felt that Cheryl would have been the kind of girl she would never get along with. But it was only her first impression of her and, honestly, she didn't have a choice to get along with her.

 **~.~.~**

Finally in front of Rose's house, Betty gave two shy knock to the door before entering. While yesterday the house was quite silent, today it was completely different. She could heard laughter and loud talking coming from the living room. Leaving her handbag and her coat in the closet, Betty then proceed to join the others. She was afraid she would destroy the happiness of everyone. Who was she to them? Just the poor girl who had just lost her mother to the hands of her psychopathic father who now lived with Rose. She had no place here. She almost didn't knew anyone. But she had to try to mingle in, for her mother and for Rose. In the living room, she found a group of two guys, a girl, Cheryl and Rose. Cheryl was the first one to notice her.

"Betty! I'm glad you're finally here, we were starting to starve here," she said with a laugh.

"I get the message, I'll go finish everything for dinner. Betty, sweetheart, come sit. Cheryl will introduce you to everyone." Without any more words, Rose left the room to go into the kitchen and Betty took a place on the couch.

"Betty, let me introduce you to my dear fellow Serpents : Fangs, Sweet Pea and my dear girlfriend Toni. You will without a doubt see them a lot since my love lived with us and those two are always here."

"You knew we were included in the package when you invited Toni to live here," laughed Sweet Pea. "It's great to meet you Betty."

For the first time in a while, even before everything that went on between her parents, Betty felt like she belong somewhere and like she could be happy. Something between the warm smiles, the friendly welcome and the sweet way everyone was treating her, she felt that everything she thought she knew about the Southside was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, they were more human than anyone she knew in the Northside of Riverdale.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey! I'm back with another chapter. I don't really have an update schedule since I post as soon as the chapters are finished, but I'll try to post a chapter every two-three weeks. Please let me know what you think of this chapter in the reviews.**_

* * *

 _ **Chapter two ~ Old friends**_

" _Call 911!" she can hear her mother scream as she is trying to push the couch in front of the door to block it. Even if she can see and hear her mom, she isn't able to move. She can just watch her panicked mother trying to keep both of them safe in their house. She can also hear someone banging on the door. She knows it is her father, trying to get inside and talk to his wife. "Betty, he is coming inside!"_

 _She can feel her mother drag her body with her in the kitchen. There is no way they could be safe upstair, without any issues out, but maybe the kitchen would have something inside to keep them safe. Betty hears the door being forced open with violence. She can see herself type some text to someone. Oh, it's for Archie, her neighbor. "Please call 911 for my house. Dad is inside the house. We're in danger." Yes, good idea. He can help them. She gets a reply in seconds. "Ok. Do you need us to come?" No Archie! It's dangerous! She doesn't even have time to answer. She feels her mom pushing her into the pantry._

" _Please don't say anything. Stay quiet. I'll try to make him leave." Her mother closes the door and everything seems to be in fast forward after that. All she hears is her short, panicked breath as she watches the scene in front of her like in a movie. Her father, in a state of rage, storming into the kitchen. Her mother backing off, as far as she can. Her father, with a red face, screaming. Her mother, tears streaming down her face, trying to escape him. Her father who starts to strangle her mother, who is trying to grab something to push him away. Her mother hitting him the back of his head with a bowl, making him back off a little. Her father grabbing a knife and, with a fast, violent move, slicing her throat. The police sirens can be heard in the distance as Betty's whole world shatters as her mother falls onto the floor._

Betty woke up in a jolt, her throat tight and tears in her eyes. For a moment, she believed it is a nightmare. A horrible, awful and cruel nightmare. But it is not a nightmare, it's her cruel, horrible reality. In her spacious new bedroom, Betty took a look around her for a moment. The room is rather simple : white wall with nothing on them, a desk with some old books on it, a bedside table with a lamp on it, a closet and her bags on the floor. She really needed to personalized her room a bit, she thought as she stood from her king size bed. She walked to the bathroom to get a glass of water. On the clock in the bathroom, Betty saw it was only 3 AM. She really needed to sleep some more. After she drank her water, helping her throat to be less dry, she got back to her bedroom. Seeing she couldn't find sleep, she took her phone and send a text to her best friend.

"Hey V. You're probably asleep, but oh well," she send her quickly. "I met Rose's granddaughter and some of her friends, they're fine, I guess. They're Serpents, so maybe they'll help me integrate the school. Want to go grab a milkshake later? Or maybe tomorrow? Tell me when you're free. Feel free to invite Archie too."

As she was closing her phone, she heard a small, barely noticeable, knock on her door. "Betty?" she heard someone whisper.

"Yeah?" she answer. Her door opened to show Cheryl on the other side, two mugs in her hands.

"I thought I heard you being up and wanted to make sure you were okay," she explained as she came closer to her. "I brought you some warm milk. It personally helps me when I can't sleep."

"Thank you Cheryl," Betty said, a warming smile on her face, as she took the mug. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know what it's like to go through something terrible. I may not have had to live something as terrible as that, but I know what you may feel like." Cheryl took a sip of her own mug and Betty, for a moment, seemed to saw a flash of pain in her eyes. If it hadn't been the middle of the night, she would have clearly asked about that. Maybe, if the opportunity went later, she would ask her about all that. "If you ever need to talk or anything, just know that I'm here. We're all here for you," Cheryl said with a small smile, before heading back to the door. "I'll let you sleep now. Goodnight Betty."

"Goodnight." And like that, Betty sipped her warm milk, questions invading her head about this girl she barely knew but seemed to share so much with her, until she fell back to sleep.

 **~.~ .~**

"Hey B! I can't today, family stuff, but tomorrow at 3? I can't wait for you to tell me everything. Love you!" Betty smiles at the text from her best friend as she is walking to the kitchen. No one seemed to be awake yet, so she just made herself a cup of coffee before going outside on the porch. It was a hot summer morning and the young woman needed to enjoy this while it lasted. She was still in her pajamas, a pair of baby pink short and an oversize t-shirt from an old band, and sat on the stairs outside, listening to the silence of the morning. The Southside was a place where people were generally night owl. In the night, it was loud and very much alive, but you mostly couldn't see a soul before noon. It was very different from the other side of Riverdale.

"You're an early bird," a voice said, making Betty jump from the surprise. In front of her, a couple of feet away, was standing a young man, about her age. He was almost menacing in his dark clothes and his leather jacket. How could he wear a jacket in this heat, Betty asked herself mentally. Even though everything about him screamed like danger, but she couldn't help being hypnotize by his soft eyes.

"Yeah," she confirmed, not really opened to a conversation with this man she didn't knew in this morning. She didn't want to talk about why she was here, about her family and about her dead mother, not this early in the morning.

"You haven't changed a bit."

"Do we know each other?" she asked, startle by his comment.

"We used to. Jughead Jones, I used to come hang out with Archie Andrews when we were young," he explained and memories came back to Betty. They were very young at the time, but Archie, Jughead and her were close at that age. Jughead's father was an old friend of Mr Andrews and her mother and often would drop his son at the Andrews. His visits suddenly stopped when they were about eight years old. She never saw him after that really, but she kept a good memories of this friendship.

"I remember," she said with a smile. "You, on the other hand, really have change."

"I sure hope it is a good thing" he commented with a small laugh.

"Yeah, I would say so," she could help answer with a playful smile. "You want a cup of coffee or something?"

"No thanks, I'm only waiting for Toni," he explained shortly. "But I may take that offer later. I think we have a lot to catch up on."

"Oh, only eight years of our lives, I guess?" she said and they both laugh. They were soon interrupted by Toni coming out of the house.

"Well, well, well… It looks like you two are getting along well," she pointed, with a smile. "Anything I need to know Jones?"

"We're old friends," Jughead simply commented. "Come on Topaz, we have to go. I'll see you later Betty?"

"See you later Jughead," she said before taking a sip of her coffee to hide her smile.

"Old friends, huh?" Betty could heard Toni asked as they were getting away and going inside a car. She couldn't help but smile at all of this. Strangely, she was happy, even though her world was completely upside down lately.


End file.
